Detail View: The AMICA Library: Storage Jar

AMICA ID: 
ASIA.1979.127
AMICA Library Year: 
1998
Object Type: 
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Creator Nationality: 
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Name-CRT: 
Chinese
Title: 
Storage Jar
View: 
Full view
Creation Date: 
Sui period (581-618)
Creation Start Date: 
581
Creation End Date: 
618
Materials and Techniques: 
Earthenware with applied design under lead glaze
Classification Term: 
Ceramics
Creation Place: 
North China
Dimensions: 
H. 16 5/8 in. (42.2 cm); D. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)
AMICA Contributor: 
Asia Society
Owner Location: 
New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 
1979.127
Credit Line: 
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
Rights: 
Context: 
This large storage jar, produced in north China during the Sui dynasty (581-618), was made of earthenware and partially covered with a green-colored lead glaze. The use of lead in glaze, which makes it highly refractive, can be traced back to the 3rd century BCE. The animal masks and floral medallions affixed to the sides were covered by this glaze. The animal masks represent a traditional Chinese motif that can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties (c. 1700-221 BCE). The floral medallions, on the other hand, provide evidence of an interest in Central Asian decoration found in ceramics produced in northeastern China during the 6th century CE; the use of relatively large applied decoration is also attributed to that source. The 6th-century interest in Central Asian decorative motifs was in part the result of the political and economic ties between the different kingdoms in China and the various peoples of Central Asia. Motifs inspired by Central Asian imagery are also found on Buddhist and funerary sculpture dating to this period.
Related Document Description: 
Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 61.
Related Document Description: 
Mayuyama: Seventy Years. Tokyo: Mayuyama and Co., 1976, vol. 1, p. 46, fig. 103.
Related Image Identifier Link: 
ASIA.1979.127.a.tif